Tango In The Loft And Other Fluff
by OnkelJo
Summary: Series of one-shots; For Castle Winter Ficathon 2013/14.
1. Tango In The Loft

**I initially planned on publishing this for the "Castle Winter Ficathon", but I wouldn't be able to handle another story, so I post my idea(s) as one-shots / two-shots as they come (knowing full well that I won't break the 15,000 words mark anyway), so anyone who wants to participate but lacks the idea can do so. I'd be happy to beta and / or co-write, but at least write where you took the idea. And maybe leave a message.**

**Standard disclaimers apply.**

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**Tango In The Loft And Other Fluff - Part 1**

She awoke with a start. The bed beside her was cold, the room still dark save for the soft glow of the street light filtering in through the window as it reflected off of the steadily falling snow.

The blinking red digits on her clock seemed to try to lull her back to sleep. It was shy of four thirty in the morning. What seemed an eternity ago she could just jump out of bed and be ready for the hard work of a uniform. Now, she just groaned lazily as she swung her legs out of the bed to go looking for her fiancé.

Fiancé.

She still couldn't quite wrap her head around the fact that she was indeed engaged to Richard Edgar Alexander Rodgers Castle. Favorite author. Man child. Nine year old on a sugar rush. Ruggedly handsome.

Rick Castle had many tags, but the one that read "fiancé of Katherine Houghton Beckett" was definitely the best.

_Oh god, what am I doing, _she groaned inwardly. She'd never been the sappy type. But then again, she had never had Castle, either. She feared the day she would wake up, married, three children, some desk job… no, not really. First the prophecy of the seemingly crazy would-be time traveler and then how good he was with the baby on thanksgiving… She looked forward to it.

Still, there was a reason why she left the inviting warmth of the sheets. _Fiancé missing, right._ Kate padded to where her bathrobe had fallen down the evening before and slipped in it, shielding her a bit from the slight shivers she had. The loft usually wasn't that cold, but it seemed the heating wasn't running yet. The janitor promised to take care of these sporadic failures, but he obviously hadn't done anything yet. No big deal. They could just fire up their new tile stove.

_If he isn't cold yet, he surely is writing, _she thought with a slight smirk. It was adorable how he could "zone out" and forget everything around him when he was writing. Kate made her way to his office where she could see a dim cold-white shimmer peeking through the slit under the door. _He's sitting at his laptop, _she deduced. The door wasn't fully closed, so she decided to have a peek at her writer boy, satisfied knowing that she wouldn't disturb him. Slowly she opened the gap a bit more and saw him sitting in his chair, typing furiously, eyes on the monitor, tongue out in concentration.

But she could see it wouldn't last very long anymore. His eyelids started drooping, before he opened them wide again with a start when his head would fall on his chest. Eventually, his hands became slower and slower, and the head sunk on his chest every so often. Normally, she would find watching other people creepy, but in this case… she would never grow tired of watching him. It didn't matter what he was doing. She had to stifle a giggle when, finally, a soft snoring escaped from behind the laptop.

She waited another few minutes for good measure, to be sure he was asleep, then she tiptoed to him and untwined the laptop from his grasp to put it on his desk

Before she closed the laptop she caught a glance at the file name.

_In the Heat of the Tango._

Her eyebrows shot up at the title. She decided to sneak a peek, but she needed to prepare everything. She snatched a woolen blanket and put it around him so he would stay asleep for a while.

He immediately snuggled into it and a smile crept up his face.

"Kaaate...", he sighed happily.

She stopped in her tracks and stood still, fearing he might wake up; but he stayed asleep and she found it really sweet that he even thought about her in his sleep. She dismissed the thought quickly though; she had a new story to read.

Kate settled into the comforter in his office, legs crossed, the story opened in her lap. She scrolled up to the start and began reading.

Completely engrossed with the story, she only pulled herself away when the first rays of sunshine fell on the display and thus making reading difficult. She rubbed her eyes with her fist to shoo the tiredness away. _I must've been here for hours, _she thought.

Castle, fortunately, was still sound asleep at his desk. She snuck up to him and positioned the laptop inconspicuously on his desk. She made a beeline for the kitchen counter to fire up the coffee machine.

While she was nursing her second dose, she made another, in Castle's favorite cup. When the machine had filled it with the delicious dark brown gold and her own cup was finally empty, she returned quietly to her sleeping fiancé. Placing the steaming hot cup on his desk, she closed the distance and whispered sweetly in his ear.

"Wake up, sleepyhead…" Castle stirred, but she couldn't elicit more than a sleepy smile out of him. He didn't even open his eyes. "Just a little bit longer, baby. Daddy just wants a few hours sleep."

She crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows. He must've dreamt of Alexis. She spoke again, this time louder, so her voice was clearly distinguishable from the young redhead's. "Oh, is that so, Castle? You wanna be my daddy, huh?"

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**I wanted to bring this line for so long :D**


	2. Kate And The Gentleman

**Another story. You guys seemed to have taken a liking in the first story though, so maybe I will write a second chapter for it… For now, here's a little fun AU where a few things are altered to fit my crazy creativity's demands… things like, they don't know each other… yet… but the rest will reveal itself in time. Enjoy!**

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**Part 2 - Kate and the Gentleman - The Overnight Story**

She awoke with a start. The bed beside her was cold, the room still dark save for the soft glow of the street light filtering in through the window as it reflected off of the steadily falling snow.

On this icy winter morning, Kate Beckett allowed herself to be lazy. Instead of getting up immediately as she usually did, she rolled around in this very comfortable bed, seeking relief from a splitting headache she labeled "heavy drinking night - never do it again". When she buried her face in the fluffy pillow under her head, she took in a scent her nostrils had lived without for quite some time now.

The pillow smelled like man.

Not just any man, oh no. The picture her olfactory receptors painted was... dizzying, to say the least; but she had more pressing issues. She sat up to take in her surroundings and realized that she was not in her bedroom. She wore different clothes than last night. She couldn't remember a thing from last night.

"Great!" she groaned and threw herself back into the sheets.

A sudden wave of horror rolled over her, so she quickly checked 'downtown', but couldn't detect any signs of late night shenanigans. _At least I wasn't a complete fool, _she thought relieved.

She finally stood up and began to orientate herself in this foreign environment. She dreaded the walk of shame she was about to undertake, but she intended to do it with as much dignity as she could muster. Kate carefully opened a door and couldn't believe her luck that she landed in the bathroom on the first try.

First point on the agenda was the toilet. She doubled over and emptied her stomach into the bowl.

Her hair. She didn't have to hold it back while puking. It was quite the surprise to find it neatly braided and completely lacking of any disarray.

She stood there for a while with opened mouth looking at the handiwork that had been done on her hair, but was eventually pulled out of her thoughts when she heard dishes clattering. She quickly cleaned up herself and the mess she had made, then left the bathroom and tried the other door leading out of the bedroom only to find herself in a vast-spaced living room.

_Probably a two-story apartment, maybe even a loft or a penthouse_, she thought. She admired the architecture while she slowly made her way over to the source of the noise. Suddenly a head popped up from behind the counter and the clattering was muted.

"Oh great, you're awake already! I didn't know how long you would be out. I mean, you _were _pretty wasted yesterday." the man said, too cheerful for such an early day, especially with a hangover.

"Gee, thanks for the info. I didn't know why I felt so peachy today." she said, slurring a bit, causing him to chuckle warmly.

He pulled himself up at the kitchen counter and finally stood up to his full height. He was about two inches taller than her which would make him around six one; his sturdy build was easy on the eyes, and the blue eyes didn't hurt his ruggedly handsome look either.

"You're welcome. Name's Rick, by the way."

"Hi Rick. I'm Kate. You don't happen to know what happened last night, do you?" she asked, not too sure if she wanted to hear the answer.

Rick only shrugged and gave her an apologizing smile. "Well, when you fell into my arms, you were already drunk, but I don't know of anything before I softened your fall with my body."

She dismissed it with a wave of her hand. "That would be great already. But before you start, I wanted to thank you. From what I woke up to this morning you did more than even a good samaritan would do. I will thank you at least a couple times more during your tale, but this is a thank you in general. Sorry, I stop rambling now." she added when she saw Rick's grin.

"Again, you're welcome." he said. He motioned for her to wait and turned around to rummage around in something on the kitchen sink. He threw her a smile over his shoulder. "Oh, and don't be sorry, you're cute when you're rambling."

She was glad he had his back towards her; this prevented him from seeing the heavy blush that crept onto her face.

"One more thing before we can start… Ah, there you are!" he exclaimed, holding up a small flask triumphantly. He poured the mysterious amber liquid into a blender.

"Don't worry", he said winking, mixing the mixer's contents with a spoon instead of turning on the blender. "I know that noise ain't too pretty the morning after. Trust me, I speak from personal experience... I've had my fair share of hangovers."

"It's okay, I feel what you're saying… What are you mixing up there, anyway? It looks like… I'm sorry, I don't have words for that."

"You don't have to, it already has a name - '_the Infamous Martha Rogers Universal Hangover Cure'_. Don't ask, she's an actress." he added with a smirk.

_Martha Rogers, _the name rang a bell, but she didn't know which one. She could blame the alcohol for that, but she didn't have the energy to do so.

"At this point, I'm willing to try anything. Even something with a name like a bad fraud." This made him laugh heartily.

"I'm trying to tell her this since she came up with the name. Without success, as you can see."

He filled the blender's contents into a longdrink glass and scooped it towards her.

"This… smells awful."

"I know. But you said you'd try anything, even this - explicitly." he quipped with an evil smirk.

"I'm going to regret this, ain't I?" she asked dreadfully.

"Oh yes… but only for the first few seconds. And again, I speak from personal experience." he answered.

"Just for the record: I blame you already for what I'm about to taste." she mumbled.

"Hey, I could cheer you up with freshly brewed coffee."

Her eyes lit up at that. "I'm game!" she replied without any second thought.

"What, you don't want to inspect the coffee machine before agreeing?" he asked with mock surprise.

"No. Compared to the smell of this, it could taste like a monkey peed into battery acid and I would still thankfully accept it." she deadpanned.

"Wow, you must really hate this. But nice graphic description. And now down with it" he said grinning.

"Do I have to?" she whined.

"Yes. And now shush. The faster you drink, the sooner it's over. Remember, I'm the one with personal experience."

"Yeah, easy to say for you. You don't have to drink this."

"I _could… _out of sympathy, you know?" he pondered.

"You would?" she asked incredulously.

He violently shook his head. "Oh, no. I already know how it tastes. I do not intend to visit that dark place again."

"You really are a jerk, you know?" she said dryly.

"Down with it! Now!" he raised his voice a bit, grinning.

She raised her hand in defeat. "Alright, alright! Just… don't shout anymore."

She surpassed the stage of sipping and just gulped it down. Her eyes grew bigger and bigger with every second, but she held it all in. Kate finished the whole glass and slammed it on the kitchen counter, raising her arms in the air for a victory pose.

"This is by far the most disgusting beverage I've had in my whole life."

He smiled cheekily. "Agreed."

She bored through him with her eyes. "And now that I fulfilled your evil feat, please keep your end of the bargain and tell me what happened yesterday."

He cleared his throat loudly. "Well, our evening together started at the 'Old Haunt'..."

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**And here I cut it off, because I'm evil! :D No, I'm not. But seriously, the chapter ends here. I want this to continue because it really is fun to write, but "My Mind Is Blank". This means, I don't have a clue how to continue and is not by any means a reference to my first story you should totally read *cough*.**


	3. Time For A Miracle

**Not a single sequel? Guys, I'm somewhat disappointed :( I explicitly gave you permission to use these short stories as prompts for your own story for the Castle Winter Ficathon 2013/14. But I guess it's...**

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**Time for A Miracle (Story 3)**

She awoke with a start. The bed beside her was cold, the room still dark save for the soft glow of the street light filtering in through the window as it reflected off of the steadily falling snow.

She missed the presence of her fiancé. There was nothing like waking up next to the person you loved, but lately she was often denied that pleasure, as he now usually was up way earlier than her, writing in his office or running errands.

But since he wasn't there again this morning, she might as well get up. After a short stop at her nightstand she went over to the window and admired the view. It was the first snow to fall this winter, but the snow layer was already unusual high. Meteorologists predicted this to be the heaviest winter since the start of the new millenium.

She didn't mind the heavy snowfall. The bright white innocence covered everything, putting nature to sleep, only to give way for new life upon its retreat. The way the frostwork had traced its patterns on the edges of the window was beautiful.

_Even on the worst days, there's a possibility of joy, _she thought with a smile that belied the temperature outside, clutching her engagement ring that was now dangling down her neck on a chain together with her mother's. She put it back on her finger for the day and twisted it back and forth, thinking back to when he put it there for the first time.

Her smile grew bigger at that thought. _Katherine Castle_, it certainly had a pleasant ring to it. In search of her favorite mug for her caffeine-powered start in the day, she opened the door to the living room - and was blinded by a bright light from the center of the room.

Her instincts cried _flashbang, _but it was missing the bang; so instead of ducking or reaching for her service weapon (that was still in the safe), she made a few steps towards it, feeling drawn to the warm source of light, but stopped in her tracks when her eyes grew accustomed to the brightness and she could discern what the source of light was.

"_Alexis?!_", she asked, flabbergasted.

"Yes, you know me under this name, Katherine." the young redhead replied with a smile.

She couldn't remember when (or if) Alexis had used her full first name. She couldn't think of anything that would explain what she was seeing and hearing.

There was her future step-daughter, dressed in nothing but a long white nightgown, barefoot, and…

"Are those _wings?_" she asked with wide eyes.

"Yes, silly!" Alexis answered laughing. "Every one of us has them."

Kate felt a little awkward asking that next question. "Every one of _whom_?"

The girl only cocked an eyebrow. "Divine entities, of course. Also known as angels in this world."

"Sorry, I'm still a bit at a loss here. You're an angel, like in the bible?"

"Duh." she replied, rolling her eyes.

"Why are you here? What are you doing? Are you our Alexis?" The confusion was perfect.

The angel tried for a few long seconds to remain calm, but to no avail. She started laughing so hard she cried.

"I'm sorry, we're not exactly supposed to be mean or sarcastic and that stuff, but you really should see your face right now. It's hilarious."

Kate was a bit irritated by this sudden outburst, but she chose to ignore it for now.

"Well, if you answered my questions, I might look a little less dumbfounded, don't you think?" she asked still politely.

"Yes, you're right. Yes, I am in fact 'your' Alexis. Until now, I could do my job while still in disguise. Unfortunately, circumstances have changed. A divine intervention became necessary. I've been sent in the life of Richard Alexander Rogers, or Richard Edgar Castle, as he calls himself now, to prevent a premature apocalypse."

Her eyes went wide when she heard that last sentence. "Excuse me, come again? An _apocalypse_?"

Alexis only shrugged. "Apocalypse, The End, Armageddon, Rapture, Second Coming, Parousia, call it what you want. But yeah, that. I believe you're accustomed with the term 'lynchpin'?"

"You know of that?"

She motioned to her back and winked. "Duh. Perks of being an angel and stuff. We get pretty good intel from above."

"How are Castle and I involved? I mean no offense, but neither he nor I are particularly religious people."

"Belief doesn't matter in such dire situations. He sees the heart." She smiled warmly. "And He's taken a liking in you two."

"I… am flattered?" Kate said, unsure what to think.

"Don't be too much. My involvement didn't go unnoticed. Long story short, it all ends in you being the lynchpin to Armageddon."

Kate's eyes threatened to fall out of their sockets. "_Me? _Wha… how?"

"You see, your story with Bracken has yet to come to an end. He didn't stand idly by while you lived your life to the fullest. He's now confident that you don't have any real leverage against him, so your survival is only an obstacle on his way into the Oval Office, a loose end. He doesn't know though what he has kicked off when he gave bogus intel to russian spies, indicating you're responsible for the death of several operatives here in New York. They want your head." She paused, the following silence almost suffocating.

"Should they succeed, my earthly father won't rest until the men responsible are punished, which in turn leaks out, leading to his death, which is again discovered by the press, which pressures the president to take action, in the end effectively starting a third World War with the United States and their allies on one side against Russia and their allies on the other, it gets nuclear, the world gets destroyed, _et voilà, _you got your apocalypse."

"Girl, for me being the key to the End of the World and given the dire situation, you surely have some nerve to waste time like this." she spat angrily. She didn't like being overwhelmed by something, and this… was well over her head.

The angel just smiled. "Don't worry, the benefits of calling in a divine intervention cover that. The assassins are on their way now, in fact they might be downstairs in the lobby already. But thank God, quite literally, for bad luck, we get to play hammer and anvil for Murphy's law, so to speak. Everything that can go wrong for them… will go wrong."

At that moment, the doorbell rang. "Delivery!"

The angel changed slightly, now less opaque, almost transparent. She pulled out Kate's Glock and tossed it over.

She caught the gun mid-air and raised an eyebrow. "What, no 'no killing' policy?"

Alexis shrugged. "If necessary, it's self defense." Then she grinned mischievously. "Besides, the rules say nothing about knee caps."

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**AND DONE! :D I bet this story took another direction than you expected :P**

**I now have officially accepted this semi-yearly challenge! I'm faaaar behind my schedule for the ficathon (about half as far as I would have to be I think), but I'm in good spirits nonetheless :) I squeezed this little "gem" in because there has to be a counterweight to all those sickeningly sweet stories that get posted this time of the year^^**

**No big introduction this time, because I did that wonderful transition to the chapter's title, and I didn't want to ruin that. Plus, I wanted to surprise you. :D **

**A little sneak peek for next week: The chapter's title contains "Part Deux" :D**


	4. Tango In The Loft, Pt II

**Looks like I finally got out a sequel :D Mostly written slightly intoxicated, which I definitely needed, given how this turned out^^**

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**Tango In The Loft, Part Deux**

Castle snapped his eyes open in horror, nearly falling off his chair in the process. A flood of terrifying thoughts took his brain by storm. Oh, he was in for a treat. He doubted he would hear the end of it until late January. At least Kate was decent enough not to tell anyone, especially Ryan and Esposito. Probably. Maybe Lanie, but the sassy M.E. would keep her mouth shut. Hopefully. He might have to bribe her with a week in the Ferrari. At least a week.

"_No!_" he managed to cry out while his mind was already in overdrive, thinking of damage limitation. "I didn't mean it like that!"

"Really? Then how did you mean it?" his fiancée replied with a stern look, folding her arms.

"I thought you were Alexis." his mouth opened and closed like a fish on land.

"Want to try again, make it sound more convincing?" she deadpanned, parroting her own words.

His adam's apple bobbed up and down visibly, his eyes still opened wide in shock.

"I… It's… Err… I mean… Wha…" He rambled for what felt like half a minute.

"You're such an easy mark, Castle." Kate couldn't hold back anymore and laughed heartily.

"Tease…" he pressed through gritted teeth, his heart still pounding a mile a minute, but a tiny smile already tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Don't pretend you don't like that." she said with a cocked eyebrow.

"I don't like it." he said, keeping a straight face. He used her momentary confusion to turn the tables on her. Two could play the game. She yelped when she was yanked down to him, now effectively straddling him backwards. Taking advantage of his hand still at her hip, he pulled her flush to his chest, feeling that the heat of his body was sending shivers down her spine, giving her goosebumps all the way down to the small of her back.

Encouraged by her reaction, he decided to make her shiver for more than one reason. She sensed that he was planning something evil, but before she could turn around to drive out these thoughts, she let out a small gasp of surprise as his hot lips began nibbling right above her collarbone, slowly going higher and higher on her neck, following her pulse that got faster and faster, until right below her ear.

"I love it." he whispered huskily in her ear, his hot breath caressing her earlobe, only increasing her urge to have her wicked way with him right here, right now. She didn't mind when he was a bit bossy, most times.

Not today.

While he began 'attacking' the other side of her neck, she thought feverishly about how to regain control. After the steamy Heat / Rook action he had written, there was no way she was letting him take charge this morning. It was time to bring things into balance.

Then it clicked for her and the mischievous smile that now was on her face would've made Castle _very _wary - if he had seen it. Luckily for her, she had still her back to him, so he couldn't know what devious plan awaited him.

When he realized her legs weren't in the same place as before, it was already too late. With a swift push with her feet off his desk, she gave them enough momentum for her plan. The already precarious balance lost, they toppled over, her fall cushioned by his sturdy body.

Winding herself finally from his grip, she turned around with a predatory smile that would've taken his breath - if he had any left. Her tongue shot out and she began to return the 'favor', nibbling at the thinnest part of his throat, almost _tasting _his pulse that was already racing a mile a minute. She sucked at the sensitive flesh, leaving a mark behind.

"Hey, watch it! You're giving me a hickey."

She only shrugged. "Just marking my territory."

He smirked suggestively. "We're a bit possessive this morning, aren't we?"

She lowered her head and stopped right in front of his face. "What do you expect me to do after that hot... steamy... scene you've written for our alter egos?" she purred, accentuating loud and clear where the focus was.

His gaze went blank for a scene, picturing _exactly _what he expected, or rather hoped she would do. Then he snapped back to reality.

"Wait, you've read my script?"

She didn't move an inch."Do you think you put the laptop away and snuggled into a blanket before falling asleep? Yeah, me neither. I really liked the title when I put it away, so I read the whole thing."

"_The whole thing_?" he asked incredulously. "That must be over a hundred thousand words! How long was I out?"

"Oh, several hours. I couldn't feel my butt when I finished, but it was worth it."

He smiled warmly, remembering well when he used that exact same expression.

She turned back into the seductress that had toppled them over.

"You know, there's one… _particular_ thing from what you've written that I would _really _like to reenact now…" she whispered, batting her eyelashes.

His eyes threatened to pop out. All the _things _in this story she could possibly mean… "What do you have in mind?" he croaked, his mouth suddenly dry as a desert.

She chuckled. "So, _so much, _Castle… But for now…" they locked their gazes and Kate smiled shyly. "Would you do me the honor to dance the tango with me?"

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**Wh****at comes next is a story I need to write sober. So long, to a fulfilled year 2014!**


	5. Kate And The Gentleman, Pt II

**Although I'm officially on hiatus now (damn you, exams!), I had this on my drive for quite some time as an idea, so I thought before I go down the deep hole where none of you can find me for the two weeks filled with exams I'm about to endure, I'll leave a little going-away gift behind. I thought I would have more time before the exams come, but I guess I underestimated their power… anyway, the result is that I lost the challenge. Therefore, I bow my head in defeat, my bruised ego only slightly cushioned by the fact that, if you'd count all the stuff I have written since the start of this challenge, I cracked 20,000 words. If only it was all about Castle and in one story *sigh*… **

**But none of that now, there's a chapter for me to write and for you to read… have fun!**

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**Kate And The Gentleman (Pt. II) - Innuendo Binge**

"The 'Old Haunt'? Isn't that the bar known for its bibliophile regulars?" she asked - and was met with a radiant smile.

"That's true! How do you know that?"

Kate only shrugged. "Well, I'm quite interested in russian literature, and I used to go to a reading circle there. The circle didn't last that long, but I stayed for the atmosphere."

"Huh… I didn't know that. Must've been before I bought that place."

Her eyes went big as saucers. "Wait, what?! You're the owner? I only heard rumors that the management changed after they almost went bankrupt."

"Yeah… that was me." he replied nonchalantly. "With all the history of the place, I just couldn't let it go to waste, you know?"

"But… how? I mean that must've cost you a fortune! Why?" she asked with a slightly nervous laugh.

"Actually, the two questions are a bit related." he chuckled. "Let's just say, I'm hanging on one of the walls. Not literally of course, I'm standing here. Well, in a way, yes I do hang on one of the walls, or rather a picture of me does… you get the point, I hope."

She furrowed her brows at that statement. Then it clicked. There was only one 'Rick' alive whose picture was hanging there… This is _Rick frikkin' Castle!_

"Really? I don't remember seeing your face there… and I usually remember faces like yours." She said, feigning innocence. It was hard keeping a straight face around your favorite author, but she was sure it would pay off in the end.

"Really?" _Oh, don't act so surprised, you. _"And I figured you for someone with impeccable taste…" he said with a pout that was ranging close to adorable.

She couldn't help but laugh at that. "Maybe I've read you… What's your genre, writer boy?"

His eyebrows were trying to launch off into space, or so it seemed. "Oh, so I am 'writer boy' now? Isn't it a bit early for pet names?" he asked.

Her mouth opened wide and let out a shocked gasp, her hand and the heat shot up to her face, the former to cover it up, the latter much to her embarrassment.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything by it, I didn't really think, it just floated out, oh god, this is so embarrassing, and you were playing with me weren't you?" she finished her spluttering when she saw how he could barely hold back a laugh.

He settled for only a smirk, though. "Yeah, just yanking your chain, you know? But for the record, your face was priceless."

_Oh, two can play this game. _She leaned over the counter and brought her mouth right next to his ear. "Next time you're yanking my chain… do it for real." she whispered.

This did the trick. He froze on the spot like a deer in the headlights. His face went blank and his crystal blue eyes turned to a darker shade when his gaze went vacant, staring at the opposite wall.

She could see his adam's apple violently bobbing up and down. "Um… I don't exactly know what to say, err… I… well… you… it's… But…" he stammered.

Now it was her turn to start laughing. "You're such an easy mark, writer boy. File it under payback."

He shot an angry glare in her direction, but she could already see a tiny smile creeping up his face.

"I'll have you know that, given my success, writer boy is not really fitting." he huffed.

"Is that so? I think I'll be the judge of that", she mocked him. "By the way: you still didn't tell me your genre."

"I write crime novels." he exclaimed proudly.

"Wait… you're not… Patterson, are you?"

"Of course not! I'm not that old" he scowled playfully.

She touched her chin to mock-ponder. "Hmm… successful crime writer? Connelly?"

"No…" he answered, now clearly annoyed.

"I've got it! You're Tom Clancy!"

He threw his arms up in exasperation. "That's it! What's it with all the old guys? Is it so hard to guess that I'm Richard Castle?"

"Nope." she said with a smirk.

He stopped in his tracks. "You knew the whole time, didn't you?"

"Pretty much, yeah. But it was fun, I must say." she offered with a cocked eyebrow.

"I'm glad that I was able to entertain." he grumbled.

"Now, now. Don't be a sour puss. You still owe me a night full of memories."

"Just name a date and I'll be happy to comply." he shot back without missing a beat.

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**Well, here we go. It wasn't that long, but I hope it will last until I wrote my exams. I don't exactly know what I will do with this story after my hiatus. But only because I failed the challenge doesn't mean I have to abandon the story, right? Just so you know what I'm up against: Technical Physics I and II, Mathematics II, Engineering IT II and Technical English I over the next two weeks. I'm already weeping on the floor. Reviews raise my mood though ;)**


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